New Zealand manager Anthony Hudson said his team started the stronger of the two teams and "never accepted the result".

He said they had eight goal-scoring chances. We had three strikers on the pitch and got caught at the end. I think the New Zealand team deserved to score a goal Man of the Match Cristiano Ronaldo says Portugal are "very happy to be in the semi-finals" and they are "confident and want to win" in the last four.

ConfedCup Group A is complete! See you in the semi-finals, Portugal and Mexico! Portugal go through as section winners and will face the Group B runners-up in the semi-finals in Kazan.

The Kiwis salute the Russian fans in St Petersburg, and the crowd returns the warmth with generous applause. A long flight home awaits New Zealand tomorrow.

Another improved and brave performance by New Zealand after that ugly opening loss to Russia. They never got under the skin of Portugal like they did Mexico, but they were confident enough to keep attacking through the second period, which ultimately made the scoreline a little harsh.

Portugal lost their first matches, with their first draw 2—2 only coming in Both belong to the strongest football nations of the world, and have met a total of 36 times of which 9 matches were competitive which resulted in 18 victories for Spain, 12 draws and 6 victories for Portugal.

The rivalry between two countries goes back to , when the king Henry of Portugal died with no heir and it triggered a succession crisis.

It lasted only 60 years until , when the Portuguese Restoration War was initiated against Spain, and Portugal regained its independence under the Braganza dynasty.

In the 18th century, wars were very often between the major kingdoms and Portugal and Spain always found themselves on the opposite sides. The Portuguese, courtesy of their long-standing alliance, aligned themselves with Great Britain , while Spain, through the Bourbon Family Compact , allied themselves to France.

In , there was a conflict between the two states over the borders of their possessions in South America. During Napoleonic Era, in , the king of Spain and his French allies invaded Portugal, using a route that crossed through Spanish territory.

However, the French decided to take over both countries, overthrowing the King of Spain and forcing the Portuguese royal family to escape to the Portuguese colony of Brazil.

After the fall of Napoleon, both countries came close to war a number of times during the early 19th century. Both lost their American colonies shortly after the end of the Peninsular War , which severely weakened their global power.

Portugal won the game as half time substitute Nuno Gomes scored a goal from 20 yards, giving Portugal their first ever victory against Spain in a major tournament, this was also Portugal first victory over Spain since Spain defeated Portugal 1—0 in the Iberian derby to progress to the quarter finals where they were to play Paraguay.

In the second half, the Portuguese attacking threat decreased, and the entry of Fernando Llorente for Fernando Torres on the field brought new energy to the Spanish team.

The only goal of the match came on the 63rd minute: David Villa picked up a brilliant pass by Xavi , having his first shot saved, but then lifted the rebound into the roof of the net.

Halfway through first half Cristiano Ronaldo shot just waved past the Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas missing the goal by inches. In the 85th minute Portugal got two back-to-back freekicks as Ronaldo was fouled for the first one and second for handball which happened as Ronaldo hit the first freekick at the wall, the second freekick went above the bar, as the 90 minutes ended with a scoreline.

After the match Portuguese coach Paulo Bento said: Spain faced Portugal in the second match of Group B. Cristiano Ronaldo gave Portugal an early lead from the spot-kick in 4th minute of the match after deceiving Nacho inside the box.

In the 24th minute, Diego Costa equalised for Spain after scoring past the Portuguese defence. Isco then saw his shot thumping against the post.

Ronaldo gave Portugal lead once again in 44th minute after Spanish keeper David de Gea was unable to handle the shot.

Costa once again equalised for Spanish side in the 55th minute. Nacho redeemed himself after scoring a superb half-volley from outside the box at 58th minute.